WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump presented a collection of records during a primetime national address. Allies had promoted the materials as decisive proof for his repeated but widely rejected claims of widespread voter fraud.

Speaking from the White House on Thursday evening, Trump highlighted supposed major disclosures. These included alleged Chinese interference aimed at weakening his 2020 bid and an alleged cover-up by the deep state. He asserted that Americans received false information regarding the security of election systems.

Yet an examination by The Associated Press uncovered no such verification within the newly released declassified reports, case files, intelligence reviews and various letters. Numerous sections remain heavily redacted, obscuring any conclusions. Other portions describe known weaknesses and evaluations that have appeared in public discussions for years. No proof exists that China or additional foreign actors altered votes in 2020 or prior elections.

The White House promised a bombshell, and they delivered a dud, said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, who joined a White House briefing on the materials before the address. Despite apparent coordination among administration staff, there was absolutely nothing here that was news, nothing here that even calls into question past elections and certainly not the 2020 election.

Here is an overview of the records contents.

China holds extensive American data

Starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China's illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files, Trump stated Thursday night.

No evidence indicates China applied that information in any manner.

It has long been known that China gathers vast amounts of data on Americans without ties to vote manipulation or election outcome changes. Public voter files are commonly accessible, including through online sources, and may be purchased by campaigns and parties to identify outreach targets.

China's attempts to shape the 2020 race were previously detailed, with no finding of direct election interference. The materials released Thursday night do not contradict that view but show an internal intelligence community discussion on how to describe Beijing's actions and goals.

The messages indicate a minority view that China had moved to denigrate Trump. That stance, rather than concealed, already appeared in the intelligence community review issued after the election.

China on Friday labeled Trump's claims groundless and entirely fabricated and stated it has never interfered in U.S. elections and has no interest in doing so.

Noncitizen presence on rolls remains uncertain

In his comments, Trump promoted a new Department of Homeland Security probe, drawn from state voter rolls and public records, that he said located roughly 278,000 noncitizens registered for federal elections.

The report indicated the agency identified more than a quarter million noncitizens illegally registered in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada using public records, which frequently contain mistakes or gaps. It also claimed another 28,000 noncitizens appeared on rolls in 25 states via the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system.

No claim is made that any of those individuals cast ballots, an act that would constitute a crime.

The data also lacks verification. Reports have shown the SAVE database suffers from inaccuracies, such as outdated entries that have mislabeled naturalized citizens as noncitizens. A federal judge has prohibited use of the database due to concerns over improper removal of eligible voters.

Research indicates noncitizen voting occurs very infrequently. Noncitizens may vote in certain local contests and appear on rolls for that purpose.

Records outline Russian election activities

Trump has long questioned the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to aid his victory. The records provide additional detail on the country's continued activities.

One declassified 2020 document depicts Russia as the nation most active in probing American election systems, though with the goal of defeating Joe Biden. It describes how Russia amplified assertions that Biden engaged in improper conduct with Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that employed his son Hunter, a point often raised by Trump and Republicans.

Their aim is to defeat the former Vice President and ensure the President's victory, states the National Intelligence Council document.

The document added that both China and Iran preferred Trump lose. It featured a chart listing each country's documented actions. Only Russia received a mark for known targeting, accessing or manipulating election processes or related systems.

Russia has continued to deny interference in U.S. matters.

Michigan draws attention

Many released documents concern a Michigan matter where a canvassing effort appearing to favor Biden submitted thousands of questionable voter registrations to a local official in 2020. The official rejected the registrations and notified authorities.

The materials contain notes from at least one FBI agent that remain heavily redacted but suggest the agent sought further inquiry and charges through 2024 without success. Michigan Republicans in 2023 criticized the state's Democratic attorney general for not pursuing charges.

However, the case closed because logical investigation and leads have been exhausted, and the investigation to date did not identify a criminal violation or a priority threat to national security, according to one record.

Weaknesses in voting systems

The documents, Trump told the nation, included intelligence revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure that leave it vulnerable to hacking, exploitation and foreign interference.

One report listed recent breaches, mostly linked to Russia, and urged state and local election officials to strengthen protections to avoid use of information for absentee ballots or voter roll changes. Election officials recognize that voting machines carry risk, which is why they do not depend on them alone for vote accuracy. Measures such as physical security, equipment checks, paper ballot backups and post-election audits help detect machine issues or threats.

It remains unclear what steps the administration is taking to support those measures. Earlier this month, Trump removed members of a bipartisan federal election commission that allocates federal grants to states, supervises voting system testing and maintains the national voter registration form, after the group opposed his push to require proof of U.S. citizenship for registration.

Trump has also reduced millions in federal funding from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, which assisted state and local officials in securing elections, and ended an FBI task force focused on foreign influence operations targeting U.S. elections.

The documents repeatedly note risks from large voter information databases, including registration systems and election websites that foreign adversaries could access or alter.

Yet the SAVE system, which Trump has encouraged states to use, has faced criticism as an unlawful centralized federal database of voter data that could become another target.

Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi, Ali Swenson, Katie Vogel and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

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